U.S. Corrugated of Delaware recently announced the city of Dover as its ‘location of preference’ for its new 457,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility.
U.S. Corrugated Chief Operating Officer Jeff Coleman and consultant, Andreas Akaras, presented the company’s plan recently at the Council on Development Finance, seeking approval of more than $3m in performance-based grants from the Delaware Strategic Fund — including a job performance grant of $450,000 and a capital expenditure grant of up to $2.73m — which it was able to secure. The project is expected to open up 159 jobs to Dover.
U.S. Corrugated plans to close its plant in Newark, New Jersey, and establish a bigger operation in Delaware. The company is considering central Delaware as the site for a new $80m box-manufacturing ‘super plant’ that would feature the latest technology for its industry. The project anticipates breaking ground in November and includes a new facility on a 37.4-acre site at 1601 POW-MIA Parkway.
“This is another win for Delaware and for Kent County,” said Gov. John Carney. “This brings back to the area more of what I call the ‘new old’ jobs that, for years, have helped Delaware families put food on the table, pay the mortgage and send their kids to college.”
U.S. Corrugated previously had been approved for a $600,000 grant from the Delaware Transportation Infrastructure Investment Fund. This grant would support signalization, entrance enhancements and other improvements at the piece of land near railroad tracks, which will enable it to bring in materials.
Throughout its consideration and decision-making processes, U.S. Corrugated has been working closely with the city of Dover, the state of Delaware, the Kent Economic Partnership, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, Delmarva Central Railroad and other community partners.
“Manufacturing jobs are the backbone of a sound local economy,” said Dover Mayor, Robin Christiansen. “I am very pleased, as not only would this bring highly skilled and well-paying jobs to our community, it would help balance our economy, as well as utilize existing road and rail facilities.”
“Central Delaware is the perfect location for an advanced manufacturing facility such as U.S. Corrugated,” said Linda Parkowski, executive director of the Kent Economic Partnership. “With our strong manufacturing base and skilled workforce, we are looking forward to more manufacturers locating to the area.”
